Meet the Team

Bionema has brought together a unique dedicated team of experts from the academic, commercial and technical sectors, committed to delivering the highest standards of service.

Richard Salvage (Chairman & Commercial Director)

Richard is Chairman and Managing Director of a number of innovative and successful companies, including Maxstim Ltd, DTR Medical, Greased Lightning and the Medsa Group. Building innovative and customer centric businesses have led to great success in different markets from healthcare to FMCG and the environment.

His business success brought him the award of Entrepreneur of the year by Cranfield University School of Management in 2012. Richard’s passion for science and innovation started while studying studied Biomedical Engineering at Salford and King’s College Hospital. He is a regular lecturer at Cranfield and Trinity College Dublin.

His inspirational leadership is welcome at Bionema Ltd.

Dr Minshad Ansari (CEO & CTO)

Minshad is founder and Managing Director of Bionema Ltd and has over 20 years in bio-pesticide development with a proven track record of delivering of IPM strategy in agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors. He has more than 70 research publications and is a regular invited speaker at biopesticide conferences. He has extensive experience in strategic R&D planning, operational management, business and technology development. Minshad completed his PhD at Ghent University, Belgium and is a qualified BASIS advisor in Crop Protection (Commercial Horticulture).

He is responsible for strategic and operational management of the company.

Philip Charlton-Smith (Non-Executive Director)

Philip Charlton-Smith has worked with companies large and small as Chief Executive Officer. He has taken companies from virtual start up to revenues of £2.5 million through organic growth and establishing significant distribution operations.

He has been active promoting Industry to government through leading roles within trade associations since 1990. He oversees sales, maximising the potential of the company’s product bank.

Meraj Syeda (Administrative Director)

Meraj has 15 years’ experience in finance, accounting, business administration and modern business management practice and is responsible for Bionema financial and business development. Meraj’s manages the day to day business of the company and organisational activities.

Stephen Burt (Finance Director)

Stephen qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse and has >20 years’ experience across a number of South Wales’s blue-chip manufacturing businesses. Until recently he was Managing Director of healthcare supplier Rocialle, part of the Clinical Solutions division of Berendsen plc.

He has experience across range of life science and environmental businesses and has participated in large fund-raising activities, business turnaround, start-ups and trade sales. He chairs the Wales Strategy board for the ICAEW and chaired the industry trade body’s special interest group for medical devices.

Shahnan Q Chowdhury (Marketing Director)

Shahnan is responsibility for the company’s marketing strategy. She has >10 years’ experience as a Sales and Marketing professional within the retail, hospitality and events sectors.

Specialties: Brand building and creative approach to problems and finding solutions that work.

Scientific Advisors

Professor Paul Dyson

Prof. Dyson has been collaborating with Bionema since 2012, alongside his role as Head of the Applied Molecular Microbiology research team in Swansea University’s College of Medicine.He provides scientific and technical advice on microbial biotechnology. He has held a number of senior research positions during his career, his expertise covering the exploitation of natural products from soil actinobacteria, focusing on Streptomyces, and the gut symbiotic bacteria of various insects.

Dr Miranda Walker

Miranda has been collaborating with Bionema as an R&D advisor since 2012, utilising her 15 years’ experience studying host-pathogen interactions of insect and arthropod species, insect breeding, and the planning and execution of R&D projects. Miranda’s advises on a wide range of R&D matters, through an extensive knowledge of applied entomology. She has 5 years’ experience studying the exploitation of symbiotic bacteria of insect pests. Miranda’s current research focus with Prof. Paul Dyson is to develop bacteria-mediated strategies to control insect pests.

To find out more, please telephone us on 01792 606916 or email to info@bionema.com